I love palindromes and what better time or place to quote this famous one? My blog today is going to be an ongoing account. I'm in Horizons, Forward, on Deck Ten, and it's ten to five in the morning. I'm told this is the best viewing spot on the ship and that the place will be packed with people well before nine a.m. when it's all supposed to begin. After a while, though, I am told, the crowd dwindles as the transit goes on and on. It sounds like watching paint dry, but we'll see.

It's no hardship for me to come up here at this hour; I often do. There's a coffee/tea station at the entrance where people can make their own beverage, later augmented by muffins and buns and orange juice. I can hear a cup being filled as I write, facing forward into the blackness. Sunrise isn't until 6:03 a.m.

TRANSIT SCHEDULE THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL:

9 a.m. M/S Insignia arrives at Mira Flores Locks

10 a.m. M/S Insignia departs from Mira Flores Locks

10:50 a.m. M/S Insignia arrives at Pedro Miguel Locks

11:25 a.m. M/S. Insignia departs from Pedro Miguel Locks

12:25 p.m. M/S Insignia Passes by Gamboa

2:35 p.m. M/S Insignia arrives at Gatun Locks

4:20 p.m. M/S Insignia departs from Gatun Locks

-- and sails for Cartagena, Colombia (270 nautical miles)

(he above times are approximate and subject to change.)

It's now quarter to seven and the grandstand seats around me are filled with people with iPads and coffee. There are a number of ships in the water, like the stacking of airplanes waiting to land, but farther apart and by arranged booking, not just first-come-first-served. I'm going to run our of battery power before this assignment is over. A bientôt.